1.
desolate; bleak; dreary; barren
A landscape or scene that is vast, empty, and desolate — evoking a sense of loneliness and desolation. Used for barren wastelands, devastated areas, and bleak environments.
荒涼とした大地が広がる。
A desolate landscape stretches out before us.
戦後の街は荒涼たる光景だった。
The postwar city was a bleak sight.
冬の北海道の原野は荒涼としていて、人の気配がなかった。
The winter wilderness of Hokkaido was desolate, with no sign of human presence.
A literary word for bleak, desolate landscapes. Evokes a powerful visual image of vast emptiness and loneliness. Most commonly used with the patterns 荒涼とした or 荒涼たる.
COMMON PATTERNS:
- 荒涼とした風景: a desolate landscape
- 荒涼たる光景: a bleak sight
- 荒涼とした大地: barren land
- 荒涼とした雰囲気: a bleak atmosphere
GRAMMAR:
A たる-adjective (literary form): 荒涼たる + noun, or 荒涼として (adverbial form). The plain な form (荒涼な) is less common.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 殺風景: bleak, dreary — used for uninspiring rooms or views; less dramatic
- 廃墟: ruins — a specific desolate place, not a descriptive adjective
- 寂しい: lonely — an emotional rather than landscape-focused word